1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital imaging apparatus for shooting the view of a subject. More particularly, the present invention relates to a digital imaging apparatus having a camera shake compensating and an adaptive sensitivity switching function.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recently, in order to reduce the adverse effect of camera shake as well as blur caused by subject instability during shooting of a still image, there is known a digital camera for optically reducing the effects of camera shake or for shooting with higher optical sensitivity. As a technique for determining whether blur of an image shot is ascribable to camera shake or subject instability, there is one disclosed by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0239795A1 to Kitajima. The bracketing shooting in which sensitivity is changed from one frame to another during shooting is disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 4380/1999 entitled “Electronic Still Camera”.
In a digital camera provided with both the optical camera shake compensation function and the high-sensitivity shooting function, the image blur maybe decreased by shooting at a faster shutter speed with higher sensitivity as well as by exploiting the optical compensation for camera shake. Hence, with an extremely dark scene to be shot, the above two functions operate synergistically so as to yield a highly favorable result. However, when shooting an extremely light scene, it is unnecessary to use both of the two functions. That is, use of these two functions simultaneously represents an overly specification-bound measure.
The digital camera provided with both the optical camera shake compensation function and the high-sensitivity shooting function is thus highly effective for an extremely dark scene because the two functions may be exploited simultaneously. However, the use of these two functions for shooting a moderately light scene may represent an overly specification-bound measure, such that power consumption is increased by wasteful optical compensation for camera shake. On the other hand, in case high-sensitivity shooting is used to an extent more than necessary, the shooting noise may be increased excessively.
Moreover, subject blur in a shot image differs in nature from the blur in the shot image caused by camera shake since the degree of the subject blur is dependent upon the user's liking in variety as may be evidence by the case where the user traces and shoots a moving subject with intended blur. As the case may be, subject blur may be desirable if the shot image is taken as a work of art.